Chapter 128: A Marvelous Dream
The baby Hippogriff was successfully born and looked very healthy. Hagrid was overjoyed and decided to host a small bonfire party.
He was clearly not suited to be a chef, as giants and humans had a slight divergence in their understanding of delicious food. However, his hut was stocked with an abundance of top-tier ingredients.
Professor Kettleburn rummaged through his cabin and found a large, tender cut of beef, a pumpkin big enough to be a carriage, various delicious dried fruits, and even a large barrel of Hagrid's homemade, delightful cheese.
The twin brothers fled as if on flying broomsticks. Lockhart initially thought they were worried about Hagrid's peculiar culinary tastes, but it turned out they returned a while later with a pile of odd snacks.
They claimed to have acquired them from the school castle kitchens.
By the time they returned, Hagrid had appeared from somewhere, carrying a fish at least two meters long, flapping its tail lively in his hands.
Lockhart contributed two large boxes of bottled Coca-Cola and various crisps, among other snacks. These were items he had bought on Muggle streets. After taking a few bites to reminisce about his past life, a whole pile of them had remained untouched in his ring.
Compared to these processed goods filled with various additives, he preferred the delicacies made by house-elves or the various poisonous snake and insect hotpots prepared by the Vengeance Fairy. These were all pure, top-quality natural ingredients, a culinary luxury he rarely enjoyed in his previous life.
Unexpectedly, the snacks he brought out received unanimous praise from everyone.
Hagrid loved the Muggle beer among his pile of things, Professor Kettleburn preferred Coca-Cola the most, and George and Fred liked everything except the beer.
Lockhart's companions also joined in. Hagrid specially roasted an animal head—he didn't say what animal—for the Fwooper to gnaw on. It had to be said that he truly understood what magical creatures liked to eat; the Fwooper ate with such relish.
The Fwooper was actually quite pitiful. Apart from occasionally getting some top delicacies discarded by Lockhart after memory cleansing, it usually ate whatever Lockhart had. Most of its food wasn't even as tasty as what the school's owl post got. Well, at least, that's how it felt to the Fwooper.
After all, it was different from other Dark magical creatures. The Little Goldie liked to eat because it was greedy; it wouldn't starve even if it didn't eat for a hundred years, having no inherent dietary needs. The Fwooper, however, would starve without food.
It was a bonfire gathering where everyone was happy.
Laughter carried far on the forest breeze.
Unknowingly, it was deep into the night. The twins, who had secretly sampled some of Hagrid's homemade potent liquor, were rolling around drunk. Professor Kettleburn had fallen asleep soundly much earlier, leaning against an old wagon wheel. Hagrid lay sprawled on the ground, but still carefully protected the Hippogriff chick in his arms.
Lockhart also stretched, drew his wand to cast a spell on the bonfire, pulled out some blankets from his ring to cover everyone, yawned, and leaned against the bonfire, falling into a deep sleep.
The Soul Bonfire spell had a unique soothing effect on the mind, healing the spiritual damage, big or small, that wizards experienced from excessive emotional engagement and willpower exertion.
In fact, it was not merely a simple soul-healing charm.
This most inconspicuous of all the spells mastered by the Forest Witch was precisely her most frequently used one, communicating with nature, communicating with natural beings, and building all the bridges for her further integration with natural spirituality.
In Lockhart's book, "Walking with Trolls," compiled from the Forest Witch's adventures, this spell played a huge role in why the Witch earned the trolls' favor and companionship.
Unfortunately, the Forest Witch succumbed to the allure of Muggle society's prosperity, came to the big city, and drifted away from nature, the forest, and her companions like the trolls.
The merging with natural spirituality was a very strange thing.
The Vengeance Fairy habitually tried to re-enter Lockhart's mind. Halfway through, she was gently but very firmly pushed away by an extremely vast force.
She tilted her head, looking at Lockhart with some confusion.
Soon, she felt a familiar power of the earth, but not a purely earthy power; rather, it was forest magic that contained a portion of earth's power.
"Goochie!"
The Little Goldie stood up from Lockhart's embrace, vigilantly eyeing the Vengeance Fairy.
It was always like this. No matter how good their relationship, it was constantly on guard against these "minions" potentially harming Lockhart.
The Vengeance Fairy shook her head at it, floated to Lockhart's side, bent over to gaze at Lockhart's state, and her ape-toothed mouth, split wide open on her body, said, "You'd best not disturb him right now."
She began to glow, and along her body, pink ethereal tendrils, like jellyfish tentacles, extended and swayed in mid-air, as if sensing something.
"Little Goldie, come down. I think he needs a little help from me right now."
"Goochie?" The Little Goldie hesitated slightly.
"Listen to her!" The Boggart had woken up at some point. Black smoke burst open, transforming into a tall Hanged God carrying a cross-shaped great axe, guarding nearby. It urged, "Our feelings for our master are no less than yours. You can't always treat us as outsiders, acting as if you're his only trustworthy companion."
"Goochie!" The Little Goldie defiantly raised its head, gesturing with its golden fur.
The Boggart was furious. "What do you mean, 'the master only giving you a name means he trusts you the most'? Dark magical creatures don't need names; that's something only humans need."
But the Little Goldie remained smug.
Just then, the Vengeance Fairy suddenly burst forth with a mass of pink light, with wisps of yellowish-brown dust swirling within it, subtly resonating with the power emanating from Lockhart.
She had a temper too. Since the Little Goldie wouldn't move, she intended to act.
"Hey~, don't do that." The Boggart quickly turned to persuade the Vengeance Fairy. "Don't do that, we're—we're—what's the word?"
"Family!" A cold, cruel voice suddenly echoed nearby, startling the three of them. They all turned their heads, only to see a werewolf shrouded in black smoke appear nearby, they didn't know when.
"Family," the werewolf said again. "You can define it that way."
It gestured to the silver-glowing Patronus horse beside it. "We were all pushed out of his mind by the forest's power. This damned horse, supposedly a guardian of the soul, is completely useless at such a critical moment."
Saying this, it looked extremely wary at the two-colored bonfire nearby. "It's this that's working, letting the forest's magic enter his mind and merge with it."
"I believe in the forest's power, but I don't trust it. Humans who unconditionally rely on nature's power will become utterly defenseless when nature decides to treat humans maliciously." The werewolf looked at the Vengeance Fairy. "If you have a way, I hope you can participate, break the balance between him and natural magic, and provide him with the power to contend."
"I also agree with that decision," the Patronus horse said, looking at the Little Goldie. "While we can generally be called Dark magical creatures, the werewolf and I clearly represent his will better, wouldn't you say?"
The Little Goldie finally nodded, stepping aside, but still keeping a close eye on everyone.
These creatures, one by one, seemed very formidable: the werewolf, the horse, the Vengeance Fairy, the Boggart, and even the red cloak floating in the sky and the Fwooper hanging upside down from the tree above. But it didn't worry about them at all.
One comes, it fights one. A group comes, it handles a whole bunch.
Did they think its three hands couldn't gut all these Dark magical creatures?
It was incredibly ferocious!
It gave the Boggart a cold stare, making the Boggart tremble.
Boss, don't make me pick sides! You're all so powerful, I can't afford to offend any of you!
The Boggart quickly looked at the Fwooper, only to find that the little useless Fwooper was completely affected by the "Soul Bonfire." After falling asleep, it hadn't even been awakened by such a loud commotion.
No, if I had known, I would have kept sleeping. This bonfire is good for me too.
The Boggart sighed in its heart.
The Vengeance Fairy clearly paid no attention to her companions' thoughts, focusing all her energy on Lockhart, and began to mobilize the power of the earth.
The earth was more than just the forest; it possessed a broader power, which, by rights, was a level higher than the forest's magic. However, she herself was not the earth, so she couldn't contend with nature's might.
Fortunately, she didn't need to contend. She knew better than anyone else that Lockhart seemed to be receiving help from natural magic, but she was a little uneasy and wanted to help watch over him.
Soon, she floated in mid-air, holding both hands out flat. Behind her appeared a huge, burning stake with chains, and the power of the earth rapidly surged.
Lockhart had a very strange dream.
He dreamt he had turned into a rabbit, a very ordinary rabbit, living in a primeval forest.
The rabbit seemed to have lived in the forest for a very long time, witnessing its birth.
It was a grassy hill, and with a seed brought by a bird, it quickly took root, sprouted, and grew strong. Then it branched out, attracting all sorts of animals to carry its seeds to various parts of the hill, eventually turning the place into a forest with diverse plants and animals.
The forest experienced the vibrant growth of spring, the lushness of summer, the decay and fruition of autumn, and the slumber of winter.
It went through the cycle of seasons as time flowed.
It experienced heavy rains, strong winds, hail, and various disasters.
But these disasters ultimately did not defeat the forest; instead, they made it even more vibrant.
The forest became increasingly full of life.
But eventually, a bolt of lightning ended everything.
It was a gloomy day; dark clouds rolled, covering everything. Lightning tore through the darkness, striking a large tree.
Flames erupted.
This fire grew larger and larger, eventually beginning to encroach upon its surroundings, spreading like a wildfire.
The rabbit was terrified and ran quickly into the distance.
However, the strong wind stirred, making the fire burn larger and larger, as if it would ignite the entire forest.
The rabbit ran in terror towards the river, along the bank, until it reached a large lake.
This should be safe, it thought.
But it clearly underestimated the terror of the forest fire. The raging fire surged upwards, as if to turn the entire sky red, carrying a terrifying sense of suffocation, and engulfed the entire lake.
The rabbit jumped onto a large rock by the lake, watching everything around it in despair, not knowing what to do.
It saw many animals wailing in the flames, saw a torrent of various forest animals gathering and running towards it, fleeing for their lives.
The flames pursued everything.
The fire surged, seemingly filling all of the rabbit's vision. It stared blankly as one "flame monster" after another, burning all over, lunged at it. Its pupils instantly dilated to their fullest.
I'm going to die!
It had this desperate premonition.
It was too terrifying. These animals, burning with fire, would surely kill anything that blocked their path.
But...
It looked back and saw no other rocks on the lake surface where it could escape. It couldn't swim either, so it could only helplessly watch as the "flame monsters" from the sea of fire lunged at it.
The despair of impending death completely filled its mind.
What to do?
What to do?
Suddenly, the earth seemed to answer its call.
Yes, it was very strange. Nature had abandoned it, but at that moment, it felt the power of the earth.
In the eyes of the earth, the burning of the forest was merely part of the earth's cycle. The destruction of this forest, the death of its animals, would only accumulate power for the earth to give birth to a forest again.
The rabbit suddenly felt a sense of detachment.
It felt as if it was enveloped by the earth's power, sinking into the earth to absorb the benefits of the forest's destruction. Looking back, its body began to grow a human torso, and on it, gaping, fang-filled maws split open.
And it itself quickly transformed into a human, hands held out flat, bound by chains to a massive wooden cross-shaped pyre, waiting for the forest's fiery red to consume him.
What to do?
After it became him, he quickly had an idea.
He gently raised his hand, his will so firm that the chains could no longer bind it.
He simply pointed at the forest fire, chanting an ancient runic incantation, "Fiendfyre Extinguisher!"
This powerful magical force rapidly scoured everything, sweeping over the great lake, sweeping over the forest on the hill, and rushing towards the broader earth.
.....
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